HERE we go again.

Are we sitting comfortably for the eight-month rollercoaster ride that is another season of following Warrington Wolves? Good, then we’ll begin…

Given what has happened over the past two years – a torrid 2022 season followed by a year that violently swung from one extreme to the other before eventually costing Daryl Powell his job – anyone could be forgiven for hoping for a serene, uneventful season at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

At this club, however, does such a thing exist?

It is another year that will be labelled as a “fresh start” for The Wire – by definition, every new season can be billed as such but at Warrington, this is the third year in a row that sees the club hope to usher in some kind of new era.

It certainly begs the question as to how many “fresh starts” must there be before the kind of sustained success the club and fans crave arrives?

As always, the noises emerging from pre-season are positive with talk of total buy-in from the playing group under a modern-day legend of the game in Sam Burgess.

His ability to transfer the traits that made him such an iconic player into his coaching will be a huge part of whether or not his time in Warrington – however long or short it may be – is deemed a success.

Is he equipped to do so, both in terms of his own skillset and the squad at his disposal? Those within the club are adamant he is but, on the outside, there is scepticism aplenty.

There are clearly many out there who will take some winning over and the new season dawns with plenty of questions hanging over the club even aside from appointing someone whose on-field qualities are undoubted but remains a complete novice as a top-flight head coach to lead them.

One can understand the reasoning behind it – the appointment of one of the northern hemisphere’s most experienced coaches in Daryl Powell did not work, so why not try the other end of the spectrum – but the decision-makers have to be prepared to answer some tough questions from a fanbase whose patience is wearing paper-thin if the gamble of bringing Burgess back to England goes the same way.

Which brings us onto the tools at his disposal – can he get a tune out of a squad that is, barring a couple of exceptions, largely the same as the one that collapsed so dramatically under Powell’s charge?

Talk among fans is of concern around the middle-unit, which despite the arrival of Zane Musgrove has lost size and depth with the departures of Sam Kasiano and Tom Mikaele while Joe Bullock and Luke Thomas have been struck down by injuries in pre-season.

There has also been plenty of criticism coming Josh Drinkwater’s way and while he appears to have held off the challenge of homegrown scrum-half Leon Hayes to retain his starting spot for now, will that continue to be the case if perceived poor performances continue?

Perhaps then, the biggest judge of Burgess’ impact will be in the manner of how they win or lose as much as the results themselves

While the final score remains the be all and end all in any given game, there have been too many occasions of late where performances have fluctuated from half-to-half let alone game-to-game.

The ability to soak up pressure and respond to adversity has been a constant issue while individual and collective effort – something that should be sacrosanct – has been rightly called into question much more often than it should have to be.

However, it can be said that pulling a group of players together and keeping them that way was a key trait of Sam Burgess the player. Above all else, he is a natural leader of men.

Even if it is somewhat scarce among the fan base, patience in the coach will be needed - Burgess himself says he will not have a clear idea of what his squad are capable of in the heat of battle until at least Round Four or Five, which is natural for any new boss whatever their experience level.

However, if he can drill down into what has been going wrong on the mental side of the game and fix it, thereby producing a team that is willing to go to war for each other for 80 minutes every single week, there is enough talent within that squad to improve upon last season’s effort of just sneaking into the play-offs at least.

We are, after all, talking about a group that features the England captain in George Williams, one of several players who can lay claim to being among the best Super League has to offer in their position, while their outside backs division is blessed with dynamism and speed. 

Will it be enough to bridge the gap to a Wigan Warriors side that look in imperious shape? Or to the likes of St Helens and Round One opponents Catalans Dragons?

Only time will tell but the odd win over the neighbours would be nice as even that hasn’t happened in near-enough three years!

The time for talking is over. The time for action is now…